Hanging in Stoke

Well we've been just over a week in Stoke and the weather hasn't been particularly kind, it's certainly not painting weather. We have moved around the Stoke moorings a little trying to find the sun for the solar panels as well as a good place to paint. Currently we are moored near the Festival Park Marina. I do remember this being a 48 hour mooring but now there is no CRT mooring signage on any of the Stoke moorings thus making them all 14 day moorings, possibly because there are so many moorings available.

 
I had planned to touch up the bow and stern of the boat but that is just not going to happen now as the bad weather continues. We have had a few nice days but plenty of wind and rain too. I have managed to get the cream coloured strip on the bow completed and ready for the art work but little more.

Before

After

I've also completed the cream strip on the swan neck after having it re-engineered, red and green to go yet.

Before

After

In between rain storms there are other jobs to be done in preparation for winter. Yesterday (Friday) was washing and polishing day, Serafina's second polish for the season. I don't get too carried away, since it's like polishing 3-4 cars polishing one 57' boat, a couple of polishes a year is enough! Lots of little niggly jobs too that can only get done when you are in the one place for a length of time with plenty of facilities.

This is also the time to get some Christmas shopping done. The Wedgwood/Royal Doulton Outlet Store is only a short walk from the canal so these days there is always plenty of Wedgwood and Royal Doulton gifts under the tree! It's handy to get Wedgwood to forward the gifts straight home rather than have to carry them with us, it was around £35 to get them back to Australia.

Rachael and I have both managed to do a lot of walking, with several retail parks and Handley (City Centre) all within easy walking distance. Currently the biggest challenge I face is keeping the batteries charged without increasing their memory, thus dropping more Ahr.

Even now as I write this blog just after midday, it is 10° and pouring rain, we have the engine running to charge the domestic batteries and we have the heater on.